Gel Saddle

Bike saddles come in all sizes, weights, colors and designs. Most bike saddles are attached to the seat post via two rails under the seat. This is the basic. The saddle fixtures and fittings have to be decided according to how you are going to use your bike. The material you choose for the covering of the bike saddle is important.

Most saddle coverings are of leather. This is hard but slowly adapts to your shape. The synthetic leatherette covering might have a little foam between the cover and the plastic base to make it easier to sit on. Bikes with leatherette bike saddles can be used only for short trips. Padded or mattress bike saddles which are found on shopper bikes, used to be common from the 50s to the 70s.

The mattress was made of a metal frame with springs from the front to the back like a mattress. Though not comfortable saddle to sit on for long stretches, these bike saddles were durable. Bikes that are used for long journeys have saddles that are narrow, and have a cutaway design. This minimizes fatigue and numbness of the back.

Sprung bike saddles were used on bikes where the position of the rider was upright in order to reduce injury to the back. These bike saddles would have some features of the mattress saddle, and helped to absorb some of the shock of uneven road surfaces. The 80s brought in gel bike saddles. Gel is a viscous substance and when used in a bike saddle, moulds the saddle to adjust to the shape of the rider’s back. This, naturally, helped protect the sensitive areas.

Gel foam saddles were not as comfortable as gel saddles because gel foam saddles only adjusted to the pressure points and not to the whole back which is what gel bike saddles do. Some bike saddles have a cutout filled with gel which also makes it comfortable for the rider. Bike saddles may have a raised area at the back with special padding; they may be narrow, or wide depending on where and how they are to be used. Good bike shops allow an upgrade on bike saddles to suit the customer.